The present invention relates to a portable terminal including a portable telephone and a Personal Handyphone System (PHS) (including a telephone provided only with character data communication functions) and a personal data assistance (PDA) terminal provided with portable telephone or PHS data communication functions. More particularly, the present invention relates to a portable terminal provided with the function of walking navigation, which can supply location-related information to the walking user.
Conventionally, there have been many map information services for supplying maps and other map-related contents through the Internet and facsimile machines. In the case of those services, it is premised that information is supplied so as to be output onto such wide monitor screens of computers and printed out onto papers through facsimile machines. However, the use of PDA terminals and data communication functions of portable telephones or PHS""s that are easy to carry about would make it easier for the users to obtain desired maps on sightseeing and business trips more favorably through the above services.
There are also many systems under development to be used for supplying the location information around the user""s present place through the GPS (Global Positioning System). For example, a car navigation system to be mounted on a car is too large for a walker to carry around. In addition, because the navigation system premises that the system is used while the object car is running on a road, it cannot be used as a walker""s navigation system as is. On the other hand, in the case of such a location information system as a PDA with GPS and a handy GPS intended to walkers, it is possible to show the user""s present place on a map stored beforehand in its local memory or down-loaded from the above services.
The conventional map information services supply maps through the Internet, which are optimized on the assumption that the maps can be displayed at a resolution equivalent to that of personal computers. Consequently, they have been confronted with a problem that the maps, when displayed on small-size screen of portable telephones and PHS terminals, are not displayed clearly.
In addition, the map retrieving method employed for the above described services requires an enormous amount of cost for the communications with the server, so it is not suitable for walking navigation systems. For example, in the case of a method that narrows retrieving conditions by displaying a map in some steps of scales from a wide range to a detailed range, the map in each step must be down-loaded from the server in each of the retrieving operations. If text is entered and/or menus are selected to narrow those retrieving conditions, however, it will be possible to reduce the data communication amount during retrieving. In spite of this, the method still has some problems that if a specified place name is recorded over a plurality of pages, maps on the adjacent pages are also supplied, so that the desired map cannot be supplied directly. In such a case, the desired map will have to be retrieved by scrolling, scaling up/down the map in display. In addition, the map must be down-loaded in each of the display operations, since the map data is not accumulated beforehand in the local memory.
Furthermore, maps supplied by the above described services are not always easy for walkers to understand. For example, when a walker (user) wants to know a route from his/her present place to a destination, the route might possibly be described over a plurality of pages. Even when the route is described only on one page, the displayed range is often too wide to obtain detailed information. In order to obtain necessary information in such a case, therefore, the user is requested to make such complicated operations as scrolling, scaling up/down the displayed map, thereby the cost of communications with the server comes to be enormous as described above.
Furthermore, if the object system requires a PDA terminal in addition to the portable telephone or the PHS, users who can receive the services will be limited in number. In addition, those portable devices must be connected to each other via cable, so that it would not be easy to use them during walking. On the other hand, there are also services for supplying such information contents as movies, entertainment and business events, restaurants, etc. available with use of only a portable telephone and/or a PHS terminal. Because it is premised that the information contents are displayed on the narrow screens of those portable telephones and PHS terminals, character information is often supplied as contents. However, when the user wants to know such a spatial position as a place and a route, those services will be difficult to cope with the user""s need. In addition, the portable telephone and the PHS terminal are just provided with some button keys including dialing buttons used as input devices, so they will not able to cope with inputs of complicated retrieving conditions.
On the other hand, the conventional PDA terminal with GPS and handy GPS are systems that can be used as a single unit. If they are just used to display maps stored beforehand in their local memories, they will not be a proper method to supply information matching with the user""s needs and easier to understand. Also in this case, they will not be able to supply such real time information as movies, entertainment and business events, restaurants, etc. Of course, if the PDA terminal is additionally provided with data communication functions of a portable telephone and/or PHS terminal, however, it will be possible to connect them to Internet map information services only as a single unit. The above described services will not yet be easier for the users to understand.
Under such circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a portable terminal with the function of walking navigation, which can supply location information easier for the user to understand during walking with use of a narrow screen of a portable telephone and/or PHS terminal. It is another object of the present invention to provide a portable terminal with the function of walking navigation, which can save labor to enter the condition for retrieving location information, as well as realize a user-friendly interface that enables the walker (user) to understand inputs of retrieving conditions intuitively.
In order to achieve the above objects, the portable terminal of the present invention with the function of walking navigation is provided with data communication, input, and display devices just like those of ordinary portable telephones and PHS terminals, as well as a device for getting location information and a device for getting direction information denoting the user""s present place. Hereunder, the location information and the direction information gotten by those devices will be referred to as terminal information collectively.
Provided with those devices, the portable terminal of the present invention can use acquired terminal information as retrieving conditions, so the user can omit the input of his/her present place. The user can also specify a desired direction only by, for example, turning the tip of the portable terminal directly in the direction instead of entering such direction information as xe2x80x9ctowards the southern exitxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9calong this streetxe2x80x9d when the user wants to know xe2x80x9cwhat kinds of stores are there around the southern exit of the stationxe2x80x9d and/or xe2x80x9cwhat kinds of stores are there on this streetxe2x80x9d. Consequently, the user can save labor to enter retrieving conditions and it is possible to realize a user-friendly interface that enables the user to understand displayed items intuitively. In addition, the use of terminal information makes it possible to match a direction in an actual space with the displayed direction on the screen. For example, it is possible to compress information so as to display a direction of movement from the present place simply with an arrow. Consequently, location information can be displayed on a small-size display screen of a portable telephone and an PHS terminal so that the user can understand the displayed information easily while the information is compressed.
When using the portable terminal of the present invention with the function of walking navigation, it is expected that the following services are available.
1) xe2x80x9cRoute Guidance Servicexe2x80x9d. . . used when the user has decided a destination, but does not know how to get there.
2) xe2x80x9cNeighborhood Guidance Servicexe2x80x9d. . . used for such information guidance as movies, entertainment and business events, restaurants, etc. when the destination is not decided yet.
3) xe2x80x9cMeeting by Appointment Guidance Servicexe2x80x9d. . . used when meeting someone by appointment so as to notify the partner of his/her present place and/or to confirm where the partner is now.
4) xe2x80x9cPresent Place Guidance Servicexe2x80x9d. . . used to know where the walker (user) is now when he/she is lost.
To supply such services, the system is configured with a portable terminal of the present invention with the function of walking navigation respectively and a server that supplies necessary information on the Internet/intranet. Just like the Internet services available through portable telephones or PHS terminals, each portable terminal, wireless network, a gateway server, the Internet/intranet, and the application server are sequentially connected. The application server is provided with a spatial information database, a database management system, as well as a control program. The spatial information database stores maps information and such information contents as movies, entertainment and business events, restaurants, etc. The spatial information database may also be dispersed on the Internet/intranet. Each processing program compresses information to be supplied to portable terminals and controls the display on those terminals according to the terminal information. Concretely, the application server executes most of processings for walking navigation and each portable terminal is provided only with the function for displaying supplied information.
The above configuration is assumed so that such portable terminals as portable telephones and PHS terminals are low in processing capacity respectively. Portable terminals that are a little higher in processing capacity may also be employed to control the display according to the above described terminal information. In addition, entire map data may be received on such a portable terminal as a retrieving result so that the portable terminal controls all the necessary processings from compression to display of the map data according to the object terminal information. A further high performance portable terminal may be used so as to store map information beforehand in its local memory and execute all the necessary processings from retrieving to compression and display of map information. In this case, the application server retrieves only such information contents as movies, entertainment and business events, restaurants, etc. that should be supplied in real time.
Furthermore, in the portable terminal of the present invention with the function of walking navigation, location information to get is represented by a latitude/longitude or coordinates and an altitude. For example, such a wireless antenna as a GPS, a PHS, etc., as well as an infrared ray sensor is used to measure location information. The portable terminal of the present invention may also be provided with any one of the above methods for measuring a position or some possible methods combined for measuring a position. Direction information to get is a direction and/or an angle of elevation representing the leading direction of the portable terminal or the orientation of the display. For example, a compass, a gyro, such a sensor as a clinometer, etc. are used to measure a direction and/or an angle of elevation. In this case, the axis of the compass is aligned to the normal of the display and the display is kept horizontal to the ground, thereby it is possible to know the direction (east, west, south, or north) in which the vertical axis of the display is oriented. The gyro, when it is set so as to keep pointing the north, can measure both direction and angle of elevation just like when a compass is used. In addition, if both compass and clinometer are used, it is possible to get not only a direction, but also such three-dimensional direction information as an angle of elevation to the ground. Instead of those compass and clinometer, a three-dimensional gyro may also be used for the above described measurement.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent in view of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments in conjunction with accompanying drawings.